2015 OCAHO Decisions re I-9 Penalties - Bruce E. Buchanan

Bruce E. Buchanan, May 3, 2016 - "An analysis of the ... numbers demonstrates OCAHO lowered ICE’s proposed penalties on average by 32.8%. ICE sought $1,877,796 while OCAHO ordered $1,200,772. These reductions were substantially less than in 2014 and 2013, when the reductions were 35.25% and 46.50%, respectively. One reason for the decrease is there were no reduction in U.S. v. ESSG II and only a 25% reduction in the largest penalty case – U.S. v. Hartmann Studios, Inc. Even though the number of decisions is dropping, ICE is consistently collecting about $16 million per year in cases with final orders, which includes litigated and non-litigated cases. The two major industries involved in these decisions were manufacturing/food processing – five, and hospitality – three. These are two of the most common industries inspected by ICE. Nine of the 13 employers involved in these OCAHO decisions were classified as small employers – usually defined as under 100 employees."